Copper
Basin Reclamation Project

Its
been said that the scorched earth of the Copper Basin once formed such
a vast scar on the planets surface that astronauts used it as a
landmark visible from space.

Whether
or not thats true, it is certain that this area of southeast Tennessee
and north Georgia has suffered some of the most severe environmental
degradation
ever caused by human activity. When copper mining and smelting began
in the 1850s, trees were clear-cut to provide fuel for the open-pit roasting
of copper ore. In turn, that process released concentrations of sulfur
dioxide that were toxic to plant life. Cattle grazing and the burning
of pastureland also contributed to the destruction.

The
Copper Basin after reclamation.

Eventually 50 square miles of land (32,000 acres) was disturbed, of which
an estimated 23,000 acres suffered from severe erosion. The topsoil and
subsoil washed away, and deep gullies were carved in the bare earth. The
soil runoff accumulated in the three TVA reservoirs on the Ocoee River,
damaging the power plants located there and causing the fish and other
aquatic life to disappear altogether.

Reclamation
efforts

Attempts by TVA, other agencies, and the mining companies
to remedy the devastation began in the 1930s, and millions of trees were
planted over
the years. In 1984, when
12,612 acres of land was still classified as critically eroded, TVA
and its partners initiated the Cooperative Copper Basin Land Reclamation
Project to tackle the work that remained.

The
challenge was great: nearly all the soil was gone, so there was
little organic matter to hold water or support plant life. The gullies
prevented the use of conventional equipment to prepare the earth for
seeding,
and the grounds acidity was inhospitable to vegetation.

Solutions

First the soil was treated with lime, either blown on
or applied by helicopters. Where bulldozers could get in, they loosened
the soil to
a depth of two feet. Helicopters broadcast seed mixtures and fertilizer,
and ground crews planted tree and shrub seedlings by hand.

Some
11,025 acres of land has gradually been returned to productive use, and
the annual rate of soil erosion has declined from 200 tons per acre
to
eight tons. The areas streams are beginning to recover, and native
fish are being reintroduced. The Ocoee River, now a premier attraction
for whitewater enthusiasts, was the site of the 1996 Olympic whitewater
competitions.

For
its work on reclaiming the Copper Basin, TVA received the 1998 Environmental
Achievement Grand Award from the International Erosion Control Association,
a nonprofit professional group. Its estimated that the remaining
work will be completed by 2005. About 100 acres of barren land will
be
left unreclaimed to
demonstrate for future generations
the consequences of severe environmental
neglect.